Broncos should call the Jets about acquiring disgruntled WR Denzel Mims

The worst thing of training camp for the Denver Broncos happened on August 2.

That was the day stud wide receiver Tim Patrick went up and made a nice catch. But when he came down, his knee buckled awkwardly. A cart immediately came out to take him off the field. Everyone who was at UCHealth Training Center and watched it happen, myself included, knew it was bad. A few hours later the worst was confirmed and Patrick had torn his ACL. He’s done for 2022.

Patrick was Denver’s best wideout the last two years. He was remarkably consistent, catching 51 and 53 passes for 742 and 734 yards in 2020 and 2021, respectively. He combined for 11 touchdowns over those two seasons. The 6-foot-4 playmaker was going to be a big target for Russell Wilson.

After the injury, the Broncos haven’t done much to address the hole in the wide receiver room. They added former Packers WR Darrius Shepherd, but it’s unclear if he’ll even make the final 53-man roster. He hasn’t popped in either preseason game thus far.

While Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton need to have big years, and Denver has some intriguing young receivers, Broncos GM George Paton should be looking for another solution. That opportunity may have presented itself on Thursday when disgruntled Jets WR Denzel Mims asked for a trade. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared a statement from Mims’ agent.

A statement from Ron Slavin, agent of #Jets WR Denzel Mims: pic.twitter.com/Na87vimRJd

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 25, 2022

Mims, a former 2020 second-round pick out of Baylor, was electric in college. He caught 28 touchdowns over his final three years in Waco, and had two seasons of more than 1,000 yards receiving in 2017 and 2019. The potential has always been there, but then, you know, he got drafted by the lousy Jets.

In two pro seasons he’s had trouble finding any traction, playing 20 games and catching just 31 passes for 490 yards and zero touchdowns. New York has been of the most anemic offensive teams in the NFL, so it’s puzzling why they don’t use Mims more effectively. At 6-foot-3 he’s a big body who can go up and get the football, but clearly the Jets haven’t targeted him much in the red zone as evidenced by the zero TDs.

Mims is the poster child for needing a fresh start. The tape from college shows that he can be great, and he’s still relatively young at 24-years-old. Paton should call the Jets and offer a seventh-round pick for his services. It lets the Jets get a little value back in return, but more importantly gets Mims out of New York and a new opportunity in Denver.

Wilson will elevate Denver’s offense from the jump. But the Broncos need to surround him with as many playmakers as possible. The day Patrick went down, the Broncos lost a big piece of the offensive puzzle.

Now Paton has a chance to fix that. He should call the Jets about Mims and buy low on a player with high potential.

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